1er April 2009 – People with high blood pressure or heart disease should avoid energy drinks, such as Red Bull. These drinks increase blood pressure and heart rate, according to a small clinical trial conducted by a team at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit1.
The researchers recruited 15 volunteers, aged 18 to 40, who abstained from any form of caffeine for 48 hours. The subjects then presented to the clinic where they ingested 500 ml (two cans) of an energy drink. Their blood pressure and heart rate were measured over the next few hours. The experiment was repeated six days later.
In short, the results showed that four hours after consuming the drink, the heart rate of the volunteers increased significantly, or 5 to 7 beats per minute, on average. Blood pressure, meanwhile, had jumped 10 mmHg. Researchers point to the caffeine and taurine found in energy drinks.
“The increase in pressure and heart rate is negligible for healthy individuals, but can be critical for those with hypertension, heart disease and who are on medication,” said the principal investigator of study, James Kalus, by press release.
Dominique Forget – PasseportSanté.net
1. Steinke L, et al, Effect of â € œEnergy Drinkâ € ?? Consumption on Hemodynamic and Electrocardiographic Parameters in Healthy Young Adults, Annals of Pharmacotherapy, April 2009, Vol. 43 (published on the Internet ahead of print).
